Chapter 0796: Jiang Wen's Problem

Originally, Zhao Fusheng planned to stay at home for a while longer, but plans changed faster than expected. Before he could fully enjoy this blissful and leisurely life, Jiang Wen called him to Shanxi.

Of course, Zhang Qian accompanied him.

As for the Brilliant Arcade and the welfare home, Zhang Qian handed them over to his comrades.

Naturally, Zhao Fusheng also asked Tan Kaixuan to take care of things there.

On September 15th, Zhao Fusheng arrived in Bingzhou.

"Why did you call me here?"

At the Bingzhou Hotel, Zhao Fusheng met many crew members. After greeting the director Li Yang, Zhao Fusheng glared at Jiang Wen, who had hurriedly summoned him.

As for the other crew members, since he wasn't familiar with them and had no connection, Zhao Fusheng just nodded in greeting and left it at that. He was from the investor side and had nothing to talk about with these people.

However, Zhao Fusheng was quite surprised to find a young girl in the crew. She was young and fairly good-looking, but her makeup was a bit heavy. She seemed to be a newcomer; otherwise, she would have to be crazy to join a crew like this.

"There's something I want to discuss with you," Jiang Wen said to Zhao Fusheng, but didn't say what it was.

Zhao Fusheng frowned slightly, nodded, and was about to speak when a figure darted over from the side.

Before the person arrived, an excited voice rang out: "Bro, bro, why are you here?"

Before the words faded, Jiang Wen slapped him on the head: "Get over there, study your script properly, and stay out of trouble."

It was obvious that Wang Qiang had been disciplined harshly by Jiang Wen recently. He shrank his neck and obediently retreated to his own room.

"This younger brother of yours is like a mischievous monkey..." Jiang Wen said to Zhao Fusheng helplessly, watching his back.

Zhao Fusheng laughed: "He's just like that. Zhou Yun must have told you, right?"

In fact, not only Fan Baobao had recognized Wang Qiang as a younger brother, but Zhou Yun had too. So both Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen were essentially his brothers-in-law by convenience.

"Don't even mention it. She gave me a thousand warnings and ten thousand instructions, as if I might eat him alive." Jiang Wen said with a wry smile, then gave Zhao Fusheng a meaningful glance: "You've come a long way and must be tired. Get some rest first."

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then nodded: "Alright."

Then he said to Zhang Qian behind him: "Let's go back to the room first."

After getting the room key from the front desk, Zhao Fusheng went to his room. He and Zhang Qian shared a room. Just as they had put their things away, Jiang Wen walked in.

"And this is?"

Looking at Zhang Qian, Jiang Wen asked hesitantly.

Only then did Zhao Fusheng remember that Jiang Wen probably didn't know Zhang Qian, since Zhang Qian hadn't been to Beijing before.

"This is Zhang Qian, my driver," Zhao Fusheng said after a moment's thought, then introduced him to Jiang Wen: "He's one of us."

Jiang Wen was startled. Although Zhang Qian was surprised that Zhao Fusheng knew such a big star, he still smiled and nodded, then got up and walked to the door.

Clearly, he was stepping away from the conversation between Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen, and also keeping watch at the door.

Jiang Wen shook his head, realizing that this man was probably Zhao Fusheng's trusted confidant, equivalent to his own assistant or something similar.

"By the way, what did you call me over for?"

Seeing Zhang Qian leave, Zhao Fusheng sat on the sofa and asked Jiang Wen.

He was genuinely puzzled. The investment for the film crew had long been in place, the company had already arranged a producer, who had just greeted him. Yet Old Jiang had called him, insisting he come over, and he had no idea why.

"Don't even mention it. There's some trouble." Jiang Wen smiled bitterly at Zhao Fusheng. "Do you think Li Yang's script could be revised?"

Huh?

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, never expecting him to say that.

"Ah, here's what happened..." Jiang Wen then told Zhao Fusheng about the events that had transpired.

...

...

In fact, before Zhao Fusheng arrived, in early September, the crew had already assembled. Of course, the assembly point was still in Bingzhou, but the filming location was a coal mine down below.

That's right. Li Yang had gone to great lengths, using who knows what connections, to get a coal mine willing to provide a filming location.

Well, to call it a coal mine was generous—it was really one of those black-market pits.

Jiang Wen still remembered a large group of them crammed into a minivan, bouncing along a rugged dirt road for over two hours before reaching the filming site.

The area was dotted with small coal pits, looking from afar like a cluster of fortresses, uneven and sprawling. Up close, all he saw were mounds of earth of varying heights, hollowed out in the middle, with small doors propped open by thick, battered wooden beams.

The people emerging from inside were dressed in tattered clothes, covered in grime beyond imagination.

It was like a wasteland forgotten by the civilized world; here, one couldn't find a trace of modernity.

If it were only that, Jiang Wen wouldn't have been so bothered, and he wouldn't have called Zhao Fusheng.

"You know? The originally agreed-upon filming—they changed their minds at the last minute, demanding a daily fee of two thousand yuan. And we had to sign a death pact, meaning if any of us died going down the shaft, it had nothing to do with the mine." Jiang Wen's expression was dejected. To be honest, he had never encountered such a situation.

Zhao Fusheng was stunned too. He hadn't expected something like this to happen.

"So what do you mean by calling me over?" Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and asked Jiang Wen.

"You're a screenwriter too. See if you can work with Li Yang to revise the script?" Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Jiang Wen said earnestly, "It's not that I'm afraid of dying, but this film might be a challenge I've never faced before."

Zhao Fusheng was speechless. Though reluctant to admit it, he had to say that what Jiang Wen described was indeed a troublesome issue.

"Do you think the director would agree?"

Zhao Fusheng pondered for a moment and asked Jiang Wen.

Jiang Wen sighed. To be honest, if it weren't for filming *Blind Shaft*, he might never have had the chance to learn how coal was dug out from underground.

But the problem was, now that he knew the secrets hidden behind this, he was getting cold feet.

You see, the workers in these small coal pits earned less than two thousand yuan a month, and if they died, the compensation was thirty thousand. And that was already considered a kind-hearted boss.

Those ruthless bosses sometimes just paid based on how many baskets of coal a worker brought out—two hundred yuan per basket, and if they died, nothing.

Moreover, the safety measures here were extremely poor. To put it bluntly, danger was very real. The mine owner's demand for a death pact was no joke.

For a moment, Zhao Fusheng hesitated. He felt that maybe he had made a mistake by letting Jiang Wen make this film.